


Say I Do And I'll Give You My Monster Heart

by IrrelevantList



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bahamut Bashing (Final Fantasy XV), Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Starscourge (Final Fantasy XV), Texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-23 00:43:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23003035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrrelevantList/pseuds/IrrelevantList
Summary: "Because of course the Astrals couldn’t resist adding to the farce of the Immortal’s entire existence. He stared at the mark for longer than it was necessary, as he was positively sure he would never forget the very thing he had once looked for. The long sought answer to the bleached white sun on his heart."The soulmates AU that no one asked for.When the press leaks Prince Noctis' soul-mark, no one is more surprised than Ardyn Izunia, Chancellor of Niflheim. The latter decides to deal with the revelation in a way that would spite the Astrals all the while changing the course of the story as we know it.
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 25
Kudos: 178
Collections: Ardynoct DS





	1. Chapter 1

“Noct, you’ll be late if you don’t hurry.” 

Noctis tried and failed to suppress a yawn, and resumed his battle against his tie. The thing just wouldn’t stay still. Growing impatient, he started to rush through the movements, and sighed when he saw the result in the mirror. 

“Noct?” 

“I heard you the first time, Iggy,” grumbled Noct, switching off the light of the bathroom. He stepped into the living room, and spotted Ignis already near the door, ready to leave. 

His advisor threw him an unimpressed stare and sighed. “Let me take care of it. Honestly Noct, sometimes I think you do it on purpose.”

Noctis did his best to resist a flinch, but Ignis’ words hurt all the same. He just wouldn’t understand. 

“Who designed these uniforms anyway?” The prince said for good measure, fighting another yawn. He was regretting his decision of helping Prompto farm on King’s Knight that late into the night. He didn’t tell that to Ignis, though. It was already bad he had trouble sleeping without dreaming horrible things. 

“At what time are you supposed to clock in for your shift?” Ignis asked, stepping back after adjusting his tie, and the folds of his uniform. 

Oh, yeah. The restaurant. His boss had called him yesterday, asking him to come in one hour earlier to help cover one of his co-workers’ absence. 

“Quarter to six. Akira’s sick.” 

Of course, that meant that Noct would have to go straight from school to work. That also meant that he would stay up late doing his homework. 

Noctis grabbed one of the sweets Ignis had brought him yesterday, bit on one and shook his head. Still not quite the same as those he tasted in Tenebrae. He should ask Luna one of these days the name of this dessert. But then, it was one of the reasons Ignis and Noct had bonded rather quickly when they were younger, and denying Ignis the eventual triumph of discovering the exact recipe was something Noctis felt would be too cruel. 

A disappointed Ignis was a sight to avoid. He already gave his advisor enough reasons to act so as it was. 

He grabbed his bag and passed his advisor, opening the door and waited in the hallway for Ignis to lock the door. Sometimes he hated how little control he had on his life, even away from the Citadel, but then he knew that it would be even worse without his friends around. 

The drive was quiet, the radio chatter blissfully absent as Ignis understood Noct’s desire for quiet. Ignis had gotten insanely good at deciphering Noct over the years. Noct felt he didn’t deserve to have Iggy around, if he wasn’t royalty, he doubted the older boy would even bother associating with someone like him. 

The car pulled to a stop, putting a halt to Noct’s rather depressing thoughts. 

“Here we are.” 

Ignis left the car, and went to open Noct’s door, but the prince was already standing outside, bag in hand. Ignis frowned and stood next to the passenger door. 

“Have a good day, Noct.” 

“Thanks Iggy, see you later.” 

With a distracted wave, Noctis made his way to the high school’s gates, back to pretending the other teenagers weren’t watching him like hawks.

The morning was uneventful, Prompto’s presence made it bearable. Even if the other’s incessant chatter often drove him mad, Noctis preferred listening to it rather than being left alone to mope and think of unpleasant things. Like the fact that his father was weakening day by day, and still wouldn’t answer his questions about his health. 

Sometimes, it was easier to forget his father wasn’t going to be around forever, and that everyone would look up to him and expect him to carry on his father’s duties. 

His heart clenched at the thought, and a now familiar panic was beginning to settle in his chest. Gods… he wasn’t ready. Not now, not ever. He would disappoint everyone. How could they not see that he would only bring the kingdom disappointment? How was he even supposed to deal with foreign countries? He could barely make small talk with strangers as it was…

Prompto’s hand on his shoulder made him jump, and he looked up, noticing they were now in the cafeteria, waiting in the line for lunch. 

“Um. Dude? You might want to sit down.” Alarmed, Noctis looked over at Prompto, who was trying to both guide Noctis in their usual corner of the room, and hide his arm so that his phone’s screen wasn’t facing the prince. 

He became aware that the shouts and exclamations around them weren’t at their usual “irritating but endurable” level, and he tried to spot the cause of the agitation. Only then he noticed that while some of them had their eyes glued to their phones, most of them were pointing their fingers at him, all the while chatting excitedly with their friends. 

“I have a bad feeling about this.” 

Prompto miserably nodded, dreading Noctis’ reaction. He drew a breath, and slid his phone over the table towards the prince. 

“Noct, I’m so sorry.”

He felt like a stone had settled in his stomach, and his heart started beating erratically in his chest as he dreaded the worst. He looked at the news article Prompto had been looking at on his phone, and his mind went blank.

**“Prince Noctis’ soulmark revealed! Exclusive pictures and analysis on page 2”**

What followed was an absolute nightmare. Noctis had never felt so exposed and nauseous all at the same time. As his eyes glid over the rest of the article in a dream-like state, a single thing that he could think was:

_They have no right. NO RIGHT! The only thing that was mine alone, GONE!_

He was vaguely aware that he had gotten up. “I can’t deal with that shit today.” As if on cue, his phone vibrated. He picked up, the other hand grabbing his hair in anguish as Ignis’ voice reached him.

“Stay where you are Noct. The last thing we need is you running around in the city at a time such as this. We will deal with this. Is Prompto with you?”

Noctis passed Prompto the phone while he grabbed his bag and strode towards the exit. Of course, people took the opportunity to ogle him, and Noctis fought the urge to protect his heart, where the mark was located. It had never felt so heavy. 

Prompto catched up with him, acting as his bodyguard as he pushed through the crowds to join the school gates. 

“Hey Noct, you’re gonna be okay?” 

Noct didn’t spare his friend a glace, anger having replaced the panic that had taken hold of him. He couldn’t believe what had happened. The press had taken the most sacred thing that Noctis owned and hanged it out for everyone to see. It would be all the people of Insomnia would talk about for weeks. 

He went to the arcade with Prompto, playing games after games to focus all of his rage on something other than his friend or some unfortunate objects. He knew Prompto had set the game to a slightly lower difficulty and part of him was grateful for that. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with failure. He could barely deal with it on a daily basis. He would trade the game of zombies for a training session with Gladio if he wasn’t convinced he’d forego all of his combat training in favor of blindly charging and then getting his ass kicked. 

He didn’t know how much time passed until Ignis eventually joined them. Before he could start a rant, Prompto’s glare immediately made him close his mouth. He settled for observing his charge and more importantly friend. The Prince’s jaw was clenched, his eyes glared at the screen as if it was at fault and he had a death grip on the toy pistol, his movements were stiff and his shoulders were tense. 

Ignis shared a look with Prompto, and Ignis was at loss as to what to say to comfort Noctis. An occurrence that had a tendency to happen more often than he would like. He felt that Noctis and him were growing apart, and he didn’t like it one bit. Perhaps he was pushing his friend too hard, but what else could he do? 

In these moments, Ignis was glad Noctis had found a friend in Prompto, even if his grades sometimes suffered for it. 

“Noct, should I inform the restaurant that you will be unable to work tonight?” 

Perhaps presenting the matter differently will help Noctis. At his relief, the dark-haired boy shook his head and exhaled. 

“No use running now. It’s out there. At least not many people know I work in a sushi restaurant. I’ll go.” 

He placed the pistol back on the arcade machine before bending down and grabbing his bag. He clasped Prompto’s shoulder. “Thanks man, I really needed that. Talk to you later?” 

“Yeah, sure, good luck buddy.” 

Back in the relative privacy of the car, Noctis fished his phone out of his pocket, and unsurprisingly noticed the long queue of notifications that occupied the center of his screen saver. 

He bitterly noted that none of the missed calls or messages were from his father. 

“Does my dad knows?” he asked Ignis. 

“He wasn’t happy, I can tell you that much. He said that we were to help you deal with the crisis.” 

Noctis snorted. Crisis. What a nice word to plaster on his pain and shame. 

“There is an ongoing investigation on who is responsible for the leak. The author of the article was sent the pictures, but doesn’t know the culprit’s identity.”

“Even if they find who did it, it won’t change anything. It’s not like I can lie about it.” 

“I guess not,” Ignis answered carefully. “In any case, his Majesty suggested you should stay home tomorrow, and rest up. I’ll have your schoolwork brought to you.” 

If one thing hadn’t changed, it was work. He usually helped the cooks with the preparations and did the dishes, and tonight was the same as always, even if he was slightly more busy than usual due to his coworker’s absence. The staff either didn’t know, or didn’t care enough to gossip about his soul mark, a fact that he was grateful for. At least here he had the chance to be “Noctis”, and as much as he had disliked the idea of having to find work to keep his independence, he was now almost glad for it. Not that he would tell that to his dad. 

He went back to his flat, exhausted, and prepared for bed. He didn’t have the heart to browse the web, or play King’s Knight with Prompto. As he lay awake on his bed, he idly drummed his finger above his heart, where the symbol of a new moon was branded on his skin. Another secret he was no longer allowed to keep to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Noctis made the mistake of checking the news the next morning. To his complete horror, there were dozens of accounts from people who claimed they always knew they were linked to “someone special like Prince Noctis” and publicly proclaimed their eternal love for him. 

When asked what shape had their soul-mark, most of the people interviewed either answered vaguely or instead went to describe it in great length in order to convince the reporters they were telling the truth.

Very few had shown their own mark, but for most of them it was obvious that it wasn’t related in any way to the Moon. Noctis almost felt sorry for them, as they were doing a good job of convincing themselves they were the one(s) made for him. 

He was entirely disgusted with it all, the leak, the press and the fact that people were ready to lie and in turn make a joke of their own soul bonds. 

All it took was a fishing trip with his friends last week, and he was now paying for that carefree moment. He entertained the thought of taking out his frustration on the person responsible for this entire mess if they were ever caught for a moment, then resigned himself to get up. He answered Prompto’s texts with his usual “I’m fine, don’t worry.” 

Of course, that was a lie, and he knew Prompto would not believe it either. 

He heard Ignis move about in the apartment and rose from his bed, before getting dressed for the day. He briefly paused and looked around his room. With a resigned sigh, he tried to make his bed the best he could. He couldn’t count on others to do everything for him. 

The place had been been cleaned up recently, and Noctis felt a bit ashamed that he had let his apartment to decay in such a state that it took one entire day for his friend to clean it all up. What an ungrateful brat he could be at times. 

Part of him wanted to grow and make something of himself, to take the time to build himself from the ground up, and not being thrown over a cliff, as he sometimes thought everyone’s expectations felt like.

Snapping back to reality, he finally left his bedroom and met Ignis in the living room/kitchen.

“Good morning Noct. I thought you wouldn’t want to be alone today.”

That was thoughtful of his friend, Noct almost expected him to tell him to act more like the Lucis heir and not to let this “mess” affect him. 

The only one he had ever openly talked about his soul-mark and bond with was Luna, and that had been when he was eight. While he was recovering from the aftermath of the daemon’s attack, he had been immersed in legends and stories of a time long gone and had learned about soul bonds. He had kept the hope that out there, someone was destined for him. And then, she had told him about the prophecy. Revealed his purpose. 

How was he supposed to save everyone if he was barely able to keep himself together?

As he grew up, he had relegated his childish desires to the back of his mind, and it was only in time of great duress that he let himself indulge in the daydream of one day find his soulmate. 

And then, a great idiot ruined it, and there was no way for Noct to know for sure if there was any ounce of truth in everything his admirers were saying. At least, no way he was willing to pursue, he refused to touch or let himself be touched by any stranger that claimed to be his soulmate. 

He sat at the table, facing Ignis, who was busy preparing breakfast. 

“What are you making?”

“Bacon, eggs and toast.” 

“No vegetables?” Noctis arched an eyebrow. There had to be a trick. 

“None,” Ignis smiled. “I suppose I can allow you one meal worth of unbalanced diet.”

“One meal, huh.” So that was the catch. 

When Noct helped Ignis set the table, Ignis looked at him, surprised. The Prince rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Anything to take my mind off… everything.” Ignis nodded in understanding, although still surprised. 

The pair had just sat down at the table when there was a knock at the door. 

“Come in!” Noctis called, ignoring Ignis’ glare. 

“Noct, what if-” his words fell short when Gladio entered, dressed in his favorite hoodie. Noctis threw a triumphant look at Ignis, who refused to admit defeat.

“Hey Noct, Ignis. I knew I smelled something good. Is there anything left?”

“Of course, Gladio, please join us.” 

As Ignis rose to fetch Gladio something to eat, the Shield settled at the table next to Noctis. 

“How’re holding up?” 

“As well as I can,” Noct exhaled, “Annoyed at the amount of idiots who think this is all a joke.” He stabbed a piece of toast, teeth gritted. 

“Yeah. Everybody wants a piece of you Noct. But I’m not gonna let anyone anywhere near you.” 

“Thanks, Gladio.” He had half a mind to ask his Shield to bash the culprit’s face in, but he felt that honor should be his. 

“So what’s today’s program?” Noctis asked. 

“You mean, apart from catching up with your schoolwork and training?”. 

Noctis groaned and started eating. He was going to need all the calories if he wanted to survive this day.

* * *

Ardyn Izunia, Chancellor of Niflheim and Immortal Accursed was patiently waiting on one of the seats in the waiting room, waiting for the King to kindly acknowledge his presence and call him up to discuss another one of these trivial affairs that were the occasional skirmishes between their armies. 

His escort remained standing, although it was more for the sake of decorum than his safety. His life was hardly in danger, after all. His escort consisted of lower ranking soldiers, having picked them up at random on his way out of Niflheim. 

Traveling with an escort meant that Ardyn could not warp his way into the Citadel, which made the entire endeavor more time-consuming than he would have preferred. Although he was looking forward to antagonize the Lucian King. In a diplomatic way, of course. 

Iedolas would have his head (or would try to) if he sabotaged his chance to get the Crystal that early in their plans. Velstael’s research held promising results, the old fool had been overjoyed with the new funds he had been accorded and had been too busy tending to his clones to bother the Accursed. Velstael’s… enthusiasm for his research had taken some time to get used to, and made him wonder many times why he had once bothered trying to heal people affected by the Scourge if men like the old fool were openly embracing it. 

Ardyn was glad he wasn’t required to play the part of the guinea pig anymore, although he kept a close eye on the man’s research, as well as the military research and development division. He didn’t fully trust Iedolas not to come up with a way to get rid of the Accursed in the midst of his paranoia and greed. Better not butcher up the tentative peace both countries shared. The Empire still had more uses to him. And his Chancellor position was too enjoyable to relinquish so soon. 

With a resigned sigh, he reached over the table before him and grabbed one of these amusing Lucian gossip magazines he so loved indulging in during each of his visits. At least it made him focus on something other than the daemons raging in his head. 

His hand froze as his eyes took in the title. He hadn’t expected one of the headlines to be about the dear Lucian heir and future nemesis. He arched an elegant brow at the word “soul-mark”. How interesting. He wondered which unfortunate soul the Astrals burdened with sharing the Chosen One’s fate. Good thing he had long since stopped believing this soulmates nonsense, as he had done with everything that the Astrals meddled with. 

He opened the magazine to the correct page, and made a strange choking noise he was unable to contain, Chancellor or not. 

“Is everything alright, Chancellor?” One of the imperial soldiers asked. His face was hidden by his helmet, but Ardyn picked up on the sudden tension of the soldiers that surrounded him. 

“The magazine provided far more entertainment than expected,” he offered in terms of explanation. Of course, it was the understatement of the century, as he glared at the offending article, too shocked to properly process what he was staring at. 

It definitely wasn’t the sight of the Lucian heir himself that posed problem. Nor was his open shirt that left little to the magazine readers’ imagination. (He had to shiver in disgust at the obvious bias of the article’s author who encouraged their readers to gawk and leer at the poor teenager, Prince or not.) 

No. However, the deceptively simple yet refined drawing of a black moon that contrasted sharply with the pale skin of Lucian heir’s chest was the source of the Immortal’s dread. 

Because of course the Astrals couldn’t resist adding to the farce of the Immortal’s entire existence. He stared at the mark for longer than it was necessary, as he was positively sure he would never forget the very thing he had once looked for. The long sought answer to the bleached white sun on his heart. 

He closed the magazine, fury threatening to destroy his composure as the daemons howled and fueled his desire for revenge. 

“Chancellor Izunia, the King will see you now.”

He stood up, and let his trademark smirk show on his face. He buried his anger in a corner of his crowded mind. Time to keep up appearances once more, he’d deal with that revelation later, and hopefully find a way to spite the Astrals in the process.


	3. Chapter 3

“General Glauca, may I have a word?” 

Warping right into the Imperial General’s way, he briefly straightened his hat in a mock greeting. The brown-haired male had no choice but to glare at him at the sudden interruption. 

The liquid metal armor stopped at his collarbone, for once letting his rugged human features exposed. The man had been on his way to leave Niflheim to once again play pretend at the King’s side, and Ardyn had him now cornered in one of the numerous corridors of Zegnautus Keep.

“What do you want?” No pleasantries, straight to the point. How boring. 

“It is a trivial thing, really. Surely nothing you wouldn’t be willing to part with... Prince Noctis’ contact information.” 

A pause. Whatever the middle-aged man had been expecting to hear, it must have been the last thing on his mind. A frown settled on the officer’s face as he looked around, as if the surroundings held the answers. Perhaps Glauca thought it to be a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so. 

“What do you need it for? Planning on harassing Regis’ precious heir? Bore him to death?” 

“Now, what a nasty thing to say!” Ardyn morphed his features into mock indignation, yet a smirk remained at the corners of his mouth. “I can assure you, no harm shall befall your beloved Prince. A shame the same couldn’t be said of dear old Sylva... Tell me, how is it like to have the King’s unconditional trust?” 

The implicit threat hung in the air as he stared Glauca down, his eyes flashing dangerously despite the pleasant expression he now harbored. The General’s blue eyes were filled with distrust and yet Ardyn could also read a sense of respect from the man. A corner of his mouth lifted in a triumphant smirk. 

“Hope you know what you’re doing,” the general warned him, breaking eye contact to angrily shove a hand in the pocket of the Lucian vest he wore underneath the armor, retrieving a sturdy-looking phone. “Do you even know how to use one?” 

“I will do us both a favor and pretend I did not hear that. Have an excellent trip, dear General, give my regards to the King.”

With a smile full of teeth, Ardyn warped away once more. 

Ardyn would never admit the General had a point. However, the plan he had in mind was too important to let a trivial thing such as technology get on his way.

* * *

After waving Gladio goodbye, Noctis pushed the locker room door open. His hair was a mess, and he wiped the sweat on his face and neck with a towel. He got out of his dirty gym clothes and hopped under the warm water of a shower stall. 

As the hot water cascaded along his body, he let out a sigh. This horrible week was finally over, and he had one week of “holidays” before final exams. And he’d finally be done with high school, but would have to face another type of challenge as the Lucis Heir. 

He switched off the water and stepped out of the stall, grabbing a nearby towel. He finished changing rather quickly, and went to grab the rest of his stuff, namely his bag and phone. A green light was blinking rapidly, informing him of a new message that awaited him. 

Expecting another text from either Prompto or Ignis, he frowned at the unfamiliar number. He swiftly unlocked his phone, blinking hard at the text before his eyes. 

_What would you do if you had the perfect opportunity to take revenge on the person who wronged you? Would you seize it, or would you let it slip between your fingers?_  
_Waiting for your enlightening answer,_  
_A._

What? Was it some kind of joke? Noct stared at the screen for several long beats, puzzled. And what kind of question was that? Who the hell wrote a text like a letter? He thought about the press, and how he had wished he could catch the person responsible himself. But surely the person couldn’t know about that, right? Very few people had his number. No, the person must have meant to sent it to someone else. Although the way the message was phrased… 

_I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure you have the wrong number. Have a nice day, hope you find the answer to your question._

There. At least he had been polite about it. The person would apologize and they’d both carry on with their day. It reminded him of the time he had once shared a rather stupid meme to Prompto, only to die of embarrassment because he had sent it to his dad, who had NOT been impressed.

He put the matter on the back of his mind as he left the Citadel, walking toward the service car driven by Ignis. Nodding his head in greeting, he handed an ebony can to his advisor who was holding the door open for him. Noctis had long since given up on telling him he didn’t have to wait for him, and instead took up the habit of trading a can of the drink Ignis craved for his troubles. 

“How was training?” Ignis asked once he had settled into the driver’s seat. 

“It was okay. Got to kick Gladio’s ass, that makes it better than the other days. Still can’t warp without something to hold onto, though.” Noctis looked through the window, the fading light painted the sky in orange and pink tones, and he took in the sight when he could catch a glimpse of it in-between the towering glass and concrete giants that made up most of Insomnia’s landscape. 

He briefly wondered what it would like to live outside of these walls, past the protection of the wall. The Imperial army now occupied most of the region, despite the Lucian Kingdom’s best efforts. That just didn’t sit right with him. How could they pretend to be the protectors of the Lucis if all they were protecting was Insomnia? His father was now fighting the drain on his own life just to save a city. He shuddered as he imagined the day the drain would become too great for his father to bear, and he would in turn bear the Ring. 

“What’s on your mind, Noct?” Ignis asked, eyeing him in the rear-view mirror. 

That shook him from his inner turmoil. “Nothing new, really.” And that was true. He tended to keep everything to himself, but that meant that he always had something to worry about, but wouldn’t share it easily. It ate at him, stressed him more than he admitted. Fear of failure, lack of self-confidence, and a want to be understood were his own daemons to deal with. He snorted at the thought. Ones that even his father’s wall couldn’t shield him from. 

He was so tired of it all, and it hadn’t even begun yet. And the entire “soulmate” crisis wasn’t helping either. Although it had happened two weeks ago, people had grown reckless in their advances, and Noctis had had to deal with the unwanted interest of more than one of his peers at school, at which point Regis had insisted Noctis be with one of his friends at all times, if he was refusing to have a Crownsguard at his sides. 

He had welcomed the end of his classes with a relief he hadn’t thought possible. The exams provided him with a suitable reason to remain indoors for a while, as he hated to think of his self-inflicted confinement. He had to take a break from work before it became known he was working there. 

People had taken to sporting tattoos of what they thought the Prince’s corresponding soul-mark would look like, and it sickened him. He wanted to scream at them to stop, but he refused to have anything to do with the press after that. He was powerless to stop him, but he refused to ask his father for help. 

His friends had told him to get over his pride and accept the King’s help, but Noct felt he had to prove to himself that he could face such a non-life threatening issue, as much as he loathed it. He also knew that if this carried on, he’d soon have no choice. 

_What would you do if you had the perfect opportunity to take revenge on the person who wronged you?_

The words resurfaced, and he indulged the thought for a short while. If he were to face the person who had made his life even more of a mess than it already had been… He’d first punch the hell out of them, after having screamed his lungs out until he could barely breathe. He clenched the first that had been resting on his bag in the seat next to him. 

“We’ve arrived. Would you like me to stay for a while?” 

Noctis focused on the present and moved to exit the car. “I’ll be fine. Although if you could bring some more sweets, I’d appreciate it.” 

Ignis nodded, his piercing gaze fixated on the Prince. “I’ll drop by tomorrow to see how you intend to organize your studying sessions.” 

“Yeah, sounds good.” It didn’t, but that was something he’d soldier on. He grabbed his gym bag and closed the car door. “Good night Iggy.” 

The guard before the apartment complex bowed and Noctis returned the gesture with his usual wave, as the sound of the engine was progressively receding, leaving him alone with his thoughts. 

He took the elevator and finally got to his flat. He let his bag fall on the floor and bent to retrieve his phone. A green light taunted him, and succumbed to curiosity. Had the person responded? Only one way to know. He swiped across the screen and opened the message notification. He was not disappointed.

_Do forgive me. However, before we part ways, may a tormented playwright ask for a stranger’s humble opinion? I find myself musing over the same problems over and over again, and the final act is cruelly taunting me from the blankness of the page on which I am attempting to write. Please forgive my forwardness, but I crave any solace there is to be found to quell the numerous voices in my head. Characters are such unpredictable and terrifying beings. ___  
_Awaiting your infinite wisdom,_  
_A playwright at their wit’s end._

__Despite himself, Noct felt a smile blossom on his lips. A playwright, huh? That certainly explained the novella-length of his sentences. And the weird questions. He set the phone aside in order to shuffle through the kitchen’s cupboards. As much as he found laughable the idea of someone asking him for opinions, he couldn’t help but feel strangely flattered. Even if he didn’t knew the person, he could somehow relate on a mental level. He too was being plagued by the same thoughts, and while he wouldn’t bore the playwright to death with the details, he reasoned that giving his honest opinion on a fictional issue wouldn’t hurt him. And if the playwright didn’t like it, well, that’s what he’d get for dialing a wrong number._ _

__His stomach ached for food, and he was temporarily distracted by his search of nourishment, and then by the attempt at cooking. While he was getting better, it still was a far cry from what Ignis would deem acceptable. After making a rather simple meal, he set aside the used utensils in the sink, deciding he would deal with the dishes the next day._ _

__He switched the screen on while he ate, rereading the playwright’s message. Struck by another surge of curiosity, he set back his fork and let his fingers hover over the digital keys. He tried to avoid using the same tone he would use to text Prompto, and took his time to formulate his message._ _

_Okay, I’ll bite. While I’m by far the least person you should ask advice to, I’ll play along for now. If the way you write is any indication, I doubt you have issues with the writing itself. So, what’s the problem? Actually, what’s the play about?_

__There. He had sent it before doubt could seize him. He also felt a kind of safety in not having to give his name, at least for now. It allowed a sort of anonymity that he usually enjoyed when he was at work. Almost like a secret affair. He snorted and shook his head. If that’s the kind of thoughts he could come up with, then it was high time to play his secret card: King’s Knight with Prompto._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked the chapter! 
> 
> If you also like this pairing and would like to chat with fellow authors/artists/amazing people, I hereby invite you to join the Ardynoct Discord server. It's a rather fun place full of wondeful people, so don't be shy! 
> 
> https://discord.gg/T7N9Kca


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